1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an absorbent fabric material of synthetic endless fiber, and in particular to an absorbent fabric material for use in clinical areas and clean room areas, as well as in company and public washrooms.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the clinical area, in particular in the operating theater, in just the same way as in clean rooms, the use of fabric material of natural fibers causes problems because natural fibers form fluff and lint which are carriers of germs and other contamination and which are distributed in the room's air. A further disadvantage lies in the fact that through the long drying period, swollen natural fibers, such as for example cotton, produce a favorable breeding ground for the growth of bacteria and germs.
In order to satisfy clean room conditions and requirements of hygiene, natural fiber materials are thus being increasingly avoided in the clinical area and in the clean room area and, instead, synthetic fibers are being used as much as possible. Since synthetic fibers can be manufactured as endless yarns and have a high yield strength, no fluff or lint formation arises with synthetic fabric material. It is however a disadvantage of synthetic fabric material that it is not absorbent or is only absorbent to a small degree. This disadvantage can be tolerated in the clinical area when it is used for drapes and articles of clothing, but can't be tolerated when it is used for hand towels and cloths for sucking up liquids. Thus, in spite of the disadvantages of fabric material made of natural fibers, hand towels and absorbent cloths made of cotton are used in the clinical area.
A further disadvantage of natural fabric materials lies in the fact that they have to be washed at a high temperature, in particular 95.degree. C., with a large amount of detergent in order to remove contamination and to kill germs, whereas synthetic materials can be hygienically cleaned at a washing temperature of 60.degree. C. and with a smaller quantity of detergent. Moreover, the energy required for drying is less with synthetic materials than with natural fabric materials since natural fabric materials pick up moisture and thereby swell, whereas the moisture only sticks to the outside of the synthetic materials.
With the synthetic materials in towel-form there is, in addition to the low absorbency, the disadvantage that these materials feel smooth and plastic-like and thus, from the point of view of their feel or handling, a lower acceptancy exists for cloths of these materials when they are to be used as hand towels which are required to be absorbent. A further disadvantage lies in the so-called "pilling effect". This is a name for a knot-like formation in which synthetic short fibers occur which, in contrast to natural fibers such as cotton fibers, do not break off under mechanical loading, but rather form knots once subjected to alternating loads.